Weight material cutting, dispensing and applying systems

ABSTRACT

A feed and cutting unit for selectively cutting and dispensing individual weight material segments from a common strip of backing material is disclosed. The feed and cutting unit comprises a feed assembly, a sensor and a cutter member. The feed assembly includes a drive roller and a follower roller that frictionally engages first and second surfaces of a strip of weight material to selectively move the strip of weight material to a cutter member. The sensor is connected to a controller and measures an amount of segmented weight material on the backing material as the strip of weight material moves past the sensor. The cutter member is actuated to separate weight material segments from the backing material by cutting at least a portion of the backing material in a gap disposed between adjacent segments. Weight apply devices that receive the segments for application to an imbalanced member, are also disclosed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to weight material cutting and dispensing systemsand more particularly to weight material cutting dispensing systems thatare configured to apply weight material.

BACKGROUND

Rotating elements are used in many different applications, including,for example, automotive applications. Any weight imbalance in rotatingelements may result in undesirable vibration. In the automotiveindustry, for example, such vibration can undesirably impact wear onvehicle components or create a poor vehicle driving experience forriders in a vehicle. To avoid these issues, it is known to subjectrotating elements to a balancing operation. More specifically, usingvehicle wheels as an example, a balancing machine may be utilized duringthe manufacturing process to spin a wheel assembly to determine which,if any, points of the wheel may require more weight to more evenlydistribute weight of the assembly, as well as how much weight to applyto each of the identified points.

Various types of weight material have been used to address balanceissues. Continuing with the wheel example, it is known to use “pound on”weights that are configured to be clipped and hammered onto a wheel rim.These types of weight elements are provided in different, predeterminedweight increments. As a result, multiple part numbers must beinventoried and managed. Moreover, as the various weights may not lookappreciably different in size, there are also issues with inadvertentmixing of the weights, as well as inadvertent use of the wrong sizeweight. Finally, the hammering action required to pound on the weightcan inadvertently lead to damage to the element being balanced, or evenchipping off a portion of the weight element, thereby reducing theeffectiveness of the weight element.

Another type of weight material that has been used includes individualweight segments that each have their own integrated adhesive backing.The individual weight material segments each have a predetermined weightincrement and multiple segments of different predetermined weights maybe selected and applied to the part requiring balancing. Again, however,multiple part numbers must be inventoried, stored and managed forcorrectly using the weights.

It is also known to provide individual weight segments arranged on acommon strip of adhesive backing cut to a predefined length. The stripof segmented weights is disposed on a length of adhesive material, withone side attached to the bottom of the weights and the other side beingaffixed to a protective release liner. Each of the weights is placed inthe same orientation on the adhesive strip, separated by a small gapfrom one another. However, for some applications, two weights may beneeded; for others, 5 weights. Accordingly, this practice requiredassembly shops to have on hand pre-sorted boxes of the different segmentlengths of weights, taking up valuable floor space. Moreover, as thesorting of the segments and placing the different sized lengths isperformed manually, human error results in the wrong sized segmentsbeing collected together. In addition, applying the correct lengthsegment also depended on the person applying the weights to select fromthe correct bin.

To reduce inventory issues, as well as minimize human error in applyingthe correct weight, it has been proposed to provide a non-segmentedstrip of weight material that is cut to selectively length by a cutter.However, as lead material is toxic, and iron, if exposed, will rust, aspecial high density weight material that can be exposed and cut must beused. Due to nature of the material, however, it has been found todiscolor over time, leading to consumers being concerned over theappearance of the weight material. Further, to cut through the material,an expensive cutter must be employed that has a cutting blade that isrobust enough to cut completely through the material. Moreover, acutting unit must be equipped with several cutting blades, as thecutting blades may need to be changed frequently due to dulling ofblade.

What is needed is a system for selectively cutting and dispensingsegmented weights that may minimize inventory concerns, as well as asystem for reducing blade wear.

SUMMARY

A feed and cutting unit for selectively cutting and dispensingindividual weight material segments from a common strip of backingmaterial is disclosed. The individual weight material segments arearranged in series on a common strip of backing material with adhesivedisposed on the individual weight material segments to form a strip ofweight material. A gap is positioned between each of the individualweight material segments.

The feed and cutting unit comprises a feed assembly, at least onesensor, and a cutter member. The feed assembly includes a drive rolleroperatively connected to a motor and a follower roller that cooperateswith the drive roller to frictionally engage first and second surfacesof a strip of weight material to selectively move the strip of weightmaterial to the cutter member.

The at least one sensor is operatively connected to a controller. Thesensor measures a predetermined amount of segmented weight material onthe strip of weight material as the feed assembly moves the strip ofweight material past the sensor. In one exemplary arrangement, the atleast one sensor is an optical sensor.

The cutter member is operatively connected to the controller. Thecontroller actuates the cutter member to separate the predeterminedamount of segmented weight material from the strip of weight material bycutting at least a portion of the backing material in the gap disposedbetween adjacent segments of weight material during the cuttingoperation.

In one exemplary arrangement, a servo/stepper motor with positionfeedback is provided. The motor may be calibrated with the controller,depending on the selected weight material used with the unit tocalculate a predetermined distance that the strip of weight materialtravels to the cutter member. The calculated predetermined distance maybe compared to the amount of individual weight segments counted by thesensor to verify that the correct number of segments were cut by thecutter member.

In one exemplary arrangement, the cutter member is mounted for selectivesliding movement along a rail, transverse to an axial pathway to thestrip of weight material. The cutter is configured to move in responseto a signal received from the at least one sensor. In one exemplaryarrangement, the cutter member is mounted to a bracket fornon-rotational movement during a cutting operation. In one exemplaryarrangement, the cutter may be selectively removed from the bracket androtated to expose a different cutting area of the cutter member betweencutting operations.

In one exemplary arrangement, a shaft wedge is disposed within a cuttingchannel disposed within a cutter base. The cutting channel is sized toreceive the cutting member during a cutting operation. The shaft wedgemay be actuated to contact the backing member of the strip of weightmaterial during the cutting operation so as to spread adjacentindividual weight segments apart to direct the cutting member throughthe backing material.

A tape removal unit may also be included for separating the commonbacking material from the segments of weight material and exposingadhesive on the segments of the weight material. The tape removal unitmay comprise a lead roller, a directional roller, a tape drive roller,and a tape drive follower roller. The directional roller directs thebacking tape away from the cutter member and thereby pulls the backingmaterial off the individual weight segments and away from the cuttermember, while maintaining tension on the backing material. In onearrangement, the tape removal unit may further comprise a slip clutchthat is operatively connected to the drive roller.

In one exemplary arrangement, a splice detector is provided. The splicedetector is configured to identify where backing material from differentspools of material have been spliced together. The splice detector maybe an optical sensor configured to detect a color change between splicetape and backing material.

In one exemplary arrangement, a marking unit is positioned adjacent thecutter member. The marking unit comprises a holding bracket forselectively retaining a marking element, and wherein the marking elementis operably positioned within the holding bracket to be selectivelyactuated to non-destructively mark an edge of a segment of weightmaterial. A marker cap holder that is configured to hold a cap for themarking element may also be provided, whereby the marker cap holder maybe selectively actuated to place to the cap on the marking element.

Various embodiments of a weight apply member configured to receive a cutsection of the segments of weight material are also disclosed. Theweight apply member comprises first and second arc members connected toa center rail, wherein the first arc member has end face disposed in afirst plane, and wherein the second arc member has an end face disposedin a second plane that is offset from the first plane. In onearrangement, the first and second arc members include electro/magneticmembers in end faces of the first and second arc members, and when poweris supplied to the electro/magnetic members, the segments of weightmaterial are retained to the weight apply member. In anotherarrangement, the first and second arc members have at least one magneticelement disposed within the first and second end faces. A force sensoris connected to the weight apply member, wherein the force sensor isused to verify that a constant press force is maintained by the weightapply member during a weight apply operation.

A decoiler unit may be operably connected to the feed assembly. Thedecoiler unit further comprises a roller assembly for holding a rolledup strip of weight material, and a feed arrangement for directing thestrip of material to the feed assembly. In one arrangement, the rollerassembly includes non-driven rollers. A dampener may be operativelyconnected to at least one roller of the roller assembly of the decoilerunit. The dampener assembly is selectively operable to prevent decoilingof the rolled up strip of weight material.

A splice bracket may be provided. The splice bracket receives a firstend portion of one rolled up strip of weight material and a second endportion of another rolled up strip of weight material and retains thefirst and second end portions during a splicing operation. The splicebracket includes a magnetic element that is operative to retain theweight segments of the first end portion and the weight segments of thesecond end portion to the splice bracket during a splicing operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and inventive aspects of the present disclosure will becomemore apparent upon reading the following detailed description, claims,and drawings, of which the following is a brief description:

FIG. 1 illustrates an elevational view of an exemplary arrangement for asystem for cutting and applying a selected amount of weight material toa rotatable element;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an exemplary feeding arrangement forthe system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of a splice bracket shown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an exemplary arrangement of a bottomsection of a weight roll decoiler assembly;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view an exemplary arrangement of a damping unitfor use with a weight roll decoiler assembly;

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the damping unit of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is side elevational view of the damping unit of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an exemplary arrangement of a feed andcutting unit for use with the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the feed and cutting unit of FIG.8;

FIG. 10 is an exemplary arrangement of cutter assembly that may beincorporated into the feed and cutting unit of FIGS. 8-9;

FIG. 11 is an elevational view of the cutter assembly of FIG. 10, takenfrom the direction of arrow R in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view of the cutter assembly of FIG. 10,taken along lines 12-12 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13A is a front elevational view of an exemplary cutter baseassembly that may be incorporated into the feed and cutting unit ofFIGS. 8-9;

FIG. 13B is a rear elevational view of the exemplary cutter baseassembly of 13A that may be incorporated into the feed and cutting unitof FIGS. 8-9;

FIG. 14 is a left side elevational view of the exemplary cutter baseassembly of FIG. 13, rotated by 90°;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the cutter base assembly of FIGS.13-14, taken along lines 15-15 of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an exemplary feed assembly that may beincorporated into the feed and cutting unit of FIGS. 8-9;

FIG. 17 is a side elevational view of feed assembly of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the feed assembly of FIGS. 16-17,taken along lines 18-18 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of the feed assembly of FIGS. 16-17,taken along lines 19-19 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of a lower portion of the feedassembly of FIGS. 16-17, taken along lines 20-20 of FIG. 18;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an exemplary arrangement of a taperemoval unit that may be incorporated into the feed and cutting unit ofFIGS. 8-9;

FIG. 22 is a side elevational view of the tape removal unit of FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the tape removal unitof FIG. 21, taken along lines 23-23 of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a marking unit that may be used withthe feed and cutting unit of FIGS. 8-9;

FIG. 25 is a side elevational view of the marking unit of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of an exemplary arrangement of a robotic“end of arm tool” that may be used to apply weight segments to arotational element;

FIG. 27 is an elevational view of the robotic “end of arm tool” of FIG.26;

FIG. 28 is a partial cross-sectional view of the robotic “end of armtool” of FIG. 26, taken along lines 28-28 of FIG. 27;

FIG. 29 is a partial cross-sectional view of the robotic “end of armtool” of FIG. 26, taken along lines 29-29 of FIG. 27;

FIG. 30 illustrates an elevational view of an alternative exemplaryarrangement for a system for cutting and applying a selected amount ofweight material to a wheel;

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of the system of FIG. 30;

FIG. 32 is a perspective view of an alternative exemplary arrangement ofa robotic “end of arm tool” that may be used to apply weight segments toa wheel;

FIG. 33 is a rear elevational view of the robotic “end of arm tool” thatmay be used to apply weight segments to a wheel;

FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view of the robotic “end of arm tool” takenalong lines 34-34 of FIG. 33;

FIG. 35 is a partial cross-sectional view of the robotic “end of armtool” taken along lines 35-35 of FIG. 33.

FIG. 36 is a top plan view of the robotic “end of arm tool” of FIG. 32.

FIG. 37 is a side elevational view of an alternative arrangement of afeed and cutting unit, with an “end of arm tool” mount for anotheralternative arrangement of an “end of arm tool”.

FIG. 38 is a side elevational view of the feed and cutting unit of FIG.37;

FIG. 39 is a top plan view of the feed and cutting unit of FIG. 37; and

FIG. 40 is an enlarged rear elevational view of a portion of the feedand cutting unit of FIG. 37.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As required, detailed embodiments of the present disclosure aredisclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosedembodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodiedin various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily toscale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details ofparticular components. Therefore, specific structural and functionaldetails disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, butmerely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art tovariously employ the present disclosure.

For purposes of illustration only, the present disclosure describes theuse of segmented weight material in the context of a wheel assembly fora vehicle. However, it is understood that system and methods of thepresent disclosure apply to other applications where additional weightmay be needed. For example, the weights described herein may be used inbalancing other components in both automotive and non-automotiveapplications.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an elevational view of a system 10 for cutting,dispensing and applying segmented weight material (shown in phantom, butshown in more detail in FIGS. 8-9, and 18) is illustrated. In oneexemplary arrangement, individual weight segments having adhesivethereon, may be provided on a strip 12 of a common backing material(with the adhesive side of the weight segments being disposed on thestrip 12). The individual weight segments are spaced apart from oneanother to define a gap between the individual weight segments. Thestrip may be loaded on a spool 14. The spool 14 may be mounted on adecoiler unit 16. Details of the decoiler unit 16 will be discussed infurther detail below.

The decoiler unit 16 connects the strip 12 of weight material to a feedand cutting unit 18. The feed and cutting unit 18 serves to advance thestrip 12 by a predetermined amount, and then cuts the strip 12 to apredetermined length of individual weight segments. The weight segmentsmay then be applied to an imbalanced member, such as wheel 20. In oneexemplary arrangement, the wheel 20 may be conveyed to a conveyorstation 21 in a robotic module 22, as best seen in FIG. 2. A robot 24having a selectively moveable end of arm tool (“EOAT”) 26, as best seenin FIG. 1, is operably configured to pick up the cut individual weightsegments from the feed and cutting unit 18 and apply the weight segmentsto the wheel 20 at predetermined locations. In one exemplaryarrangement, the feed and cutting unit 18 is mounted on a platformattached to the robotic module 22. A strip conveyor 28 may be providedto direct the strip 12 from the decoiler unit 16 to the feed and cuttingunit 18, as well as to support the weight of the strip 12 as it isdirected to the feed and cutting unit 18.

Turning now to FIG. 3A, details of one exemplary arrangement of thedecoiler unit 16 will now be discussed. The spool 14 and strip 12 havebeen removed from FIG. 3A for ease of discussion with respect to theelements of the exemplary decoiler unit 16. The decoiler unit 16 mayinclude a decoiler frame 30 to which a pair of rollers 32 a, 32 b aremounted for rotation. Rollers 32 a, 32 b are arranged so as to be spacedapart a predetermined distance, but disposed parallel to one another.The rollers 32 a, 32 b may be non-driven rollers. The spool 14 istypically placed on the rollers 32 a, 32 b and the weight of the spool14 itself is used to decoil the spool 14. One or more extension elements34 extends upwardly from the decoiler frame 30. A roller unit 33 may bemounted to the decoiler frame 30 (best seen in FIG. 4), that includes apair of rollers 35 rotatably mounted thereto. Rollers 35 are disposed ina parallel arrangement, with a narrow space therebetween. The spacebetween the rollers 35 is sufficiently wide enough for the strip 12 ofweight material to be directed. A bracket 37 to which the rollers 35 aremounted for rotation, may be secured to part of the decoiler frame 30. Afriction roller assembly 36 is mounted to the extension element 34. Thefriction roller assembly 36 includes a guide roller 37 and a rotatingguide member 38. The guide member 38 further includes a channel 43 thatreceives the strip 12 of weight material from the spool 14 (as shown inFIG. 1). The guide roller 37 serves to push the strip 12 of weightmaterial in the channel 43 such that the strip 12 is directed over therotating guide member 38. Disposed in line with rotating guide member 38is an elongated tape guide 40. Tape guide 40 includes opposing wallsthat define a channel therewithin, through which the strip 12 isdirected. Either end 40 a, 40 b of the tape guide 40 maybe flaredoutwardly to prevent bunching of the strip 12 of material.

One or more sensors (examples shown in FIG. 30, S₁ S₂) that areoperatively connected to a controller may be positioned within thechannel to verify the presence of the strip 12 within the tape guide 40such that a degree of slack is provided in the strip 12 during a feedand cutting operation. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, thedecoiler unit 16 may create a loop 39 from the strip 12 of weightmaterial to provide a degree of slack in the feeding operation. The loop39 serves as a weight buffer that will allow a changeover of a spool 14,without immediately affecting the functionality of the system 10. Inother words, weight segments may still continue to be cut from the strip12 of weight material, even while the spool 14 is being changed, therebyimproving efficiency as production need not be stopped.

The decoiler unit 16 may further include a weight material usagemonitoring system. In one exemplary arrangement, the weigh materialusage monitoring system includes at least one optical sensor that may bemounted on a portion of the decoiler frame 30. The sensor 31 (best seenin FIG. 4) may be arranged so as to “see” a portion of the spool 14 whenloaded. When the spool 14 gets to a predetermined usage size (i.e., thespool 14 will become smaller as the weight material is used), the sensorwill communicate with a controller for the system 10 to provide anindication to the user that the weight material in the spool 14 isrunning low. In one exemplary arrangement, the indication may be asound, like an alarm, a visual indicator like a light, a textcommunication on an operator screen, or a combination of one or more ofthe above. When the spool 14 of material completely depletes the weightmaterial, in one exemplary arrangement, the empty spool 14 will fallthrough the rollers 32 a/32 b and the sensor will communicate with thecontroller to send an indication (in the form described above) that thespool 14 must be replaced.

When the strip 12 of material from a spool 14 has been exhausted, aterminal end of the strip 12 a may be spliced with a leading end of astrip 12 b from a new spool 14. In one exemplary arrangement, theextension element 34 may further include a splice bracket 45. In oneexemplary arrangement, the splice bracket 45 is positioned opposite tothe tape guide 40 (i.e. on side 47, as best seen in FIG. 1). Splicebracket 45, an enlarged view of which is shown in FIG. 3B, may include apair of opposing arms 42 attached to a backing member 44. An insidesurface 49 of opposing arms 42 are spaced away from the backing member44 to allow a slight clearance for the strip 12 of weight material topass through. A magnet (not shown) may be disposed behind the backingmember 44, which may be mounted to extension element 34. The arms 42cooperate to retain edges E₁ and E₂ of two aligned and abutting endsections of strips 12 a and 12 b within the splice bracket 45, while themagnet serves to magnetically retain the weight material to the splicebracket 45 in a stationary manner during a splicing operation. In analternative arrangement, a slider element that fits over splice bracketarms 42 may serve to automatically retain the edges E₁ and E₂ within thesplice bracket 45. A common splice tape (not shown) is used to join thebacking material of strips 12 a and 12 b. To easily identify a splicesection (as will be discussed below in connection with FIG. 37, it iscontemplated that the splice tape will optically distinguishable fromthe sections 12 a and 12 b of strips of material. For example, it iscontemplated that the splice tape will be a different color than thesections 12 a and 12 b.

Decoiler frame 30 may be positioned adjacent to the feed and cuttingunit 18 such that the strip 12 of weight material feeds from the tapeguide 40 to the strip conveyor 28. However, in some instances, it maynot be possible to directly position the decoiler frame 30 adjacent tothe feed and cutting unit 18, due to space constraints. Accordingly, insome exemplary arrangements, one or more connector sections 46 may beprovided. An exemplary connector section 46 is illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.Connector section 46 includes first and second leg elements 48, 50, atape guide 52, a friction roller assembly 54, and a conveyor section 56.The conveyor section 56 extends between first and second leg elements48, 50 and includes a channel 53 to receive the strip 12 of weightmaterial therein. The tape guide 52 is similar to tape guide 40,described above. The friction roller assembly 54 may also be similar tofriction roller assembly 36, including having a rotating guide member 38and a guide rollers 37. Further, guide member 38 may be motorized toprovide a predetermined feed rate to the decoiler unit 16, or if neededto reduce weight drag on the conveyor section 56. As may be seen in FIG.1, the strip 12 of weight material is directed from the friction rollerassembly 36 to the conveyor section 56. In one exemplary arrangement,the conveyor section 56 may include a downwardly extending arcuate end55. This configuration of end 55 will permit some slack between decoilerunit 16 and connector section 46, if needed. In one embodiment, thestrip 12 may be directed down into the tape guide 40 and looped back upto the conveyor section 56. From the conveyor section 56, the strip 12of weight material extends through the friction roller assembly 54 anddown the tape guide 52. From the tape guide 52, the strip 12 of weightmaterial will be directed to the strip conveyor 28 that feeds into thefeed and cutting unit 18.

At times, the weight of the spool 14 may cause the strip 12 of materialto unintentionally unravel from the spool 14, even when the feed andcutting unit is not operating. To prevent such unintentional decoilingof the spool 14, a damping unit 58 (best seen in FIGS. 5-7) may beprovided. The damping unit 58 is configured to frictionally engage oneof rollers 32 a, 32 b, thereby stopping the spool 14 from decoiling. Thedamping unit 58 may be provided on bracket 60 that is connected to thedecoiler frame 30, beneath roller 32 b. The damping unit 58 comprises abumper element 62 that is connected to an actuated shaft member 64 by afastening element 66. In one exemplary arrangement, damping unit 58includes air cylinders 68 to actuate the shaft between a braked and anon-braked position. As shown in FIG. 7, when the shaft 64 is in abraked position, the bumper element 62 is frictionally engaging roller32 b, thereby preventing roller 32 b from rotating.

Turning to FIGS. 8-25, details of the feed and cutting unit 18 will nowbe described. The feed and cutting unit 18 may be disposed within ahousing member 70. A cover 72 may be hingedly connected to the housingmember 70 to provide selective access to the feed and cutting unit 18.

The feed and cutting unit 18 comprises a feed assembly 74, at least onesensor 75 (seen in FIG. 14), a cutter member 76, and a tape removal unit78. Details of the feed assembly 74 are shown in FIGS. 16-20. Details ofthe cutter member 76 are shown in FIGS. 10-12. The at least one sensor75 may be mounted to a cutter base assembly 80, the details of which areshown in FIGS. 13-15. Details of the tape removal unit are shown in21-23. The feed and cutting unit 18 may further comprise a marking unit82. Details of the marking unit 82 are shown in FIGS. 24-25. The feedassembly 74 is configured to grip the strip 12 of weight material andadvance the strip 12 to the cutter member 76. In one exemplaryarrangement, the sensor 75 is configured to count gaps between adjacentsegments of weight material on the strip 12. The sensor is positioneddownstream of the feed assembly 74 along the path of travel, representedby arrow T in FIG. 9, but before the cutter member 76. In one exemplaryarrangement, an encoder may be employed to measure the length of thestrip 12 to be cut as a check that the correct number of weight segmentsare included. If there is a discrepancy between the gaps counted bysensor 75 and the encoder length, the controller can be programmed toautomatically back up the strip 12 recount the strip 12 segment again.

The marker unit 82 is positioned between the cutter member 76 and thefeed assembly 74, as shown in FIG. 8 and in enlarged view in FIGS.24-25. The marker unit 82 is configured to non-destructively mark anoutside edge of a strip 12 of weight material to be cut. Morespecifically, the marker unit 82 is operable to mark a specificlocation, based on the information gleaned from the sensor 75, on thestrip 12 of weight material to ensure proper placement of a cut segmentof weight material on an inbalanced element, such as wheel 20. Forexample, if a strip of 3 weight segments is to be cut, the cut stripshould be centered on the location on imbalanced element. The markerunit 82 provides a visible indicator of where the strip of weightmaterial should be placed. Cut segments of weight material are removedfrom the feed and cutting unit 18 out of an opening formed through aside panel 84 of housing 70. A main portion of the tape removal unit 78is disposed against a side panel 87 of the housing 70. The tape removalunit 78 is configured to pull the non-adhesive backing 86 away from athe strip 12 of weight material and to prevent the backing 86 frominterfering with a cutting operation.

The cutter member 76 is illustrated in FIGS. 8, and 10-12. The cuttermember 76 comprises mounting block 88 to which a blade bracket 90 isremovable secured by a selectively actuated fastening element 91. In oneexemplary arrangement, fastening element 91 is a screw fastener with aknob. However, other suitable configurations are contemplated. The bladebracket 90 carries a cutting blade 92. In one exemplary arrangement, thecutting blade 92 is fixed to the blade bracket 90 in a non-rotationalmanner. In other words, cutting blade 92 is does not rotate, but insteadremains fixed. In one exemplary arrangement, mounting block 88 ismounted to a rail member 94 such that mounting block 88 may beselectively moved along rail member 94 to move cutting blade 92.However, it is understood, that rail member 94 may be oriented in adifferent manner such that the cutting blade 92 does not move axially inthe cutting direction represented by arrow C in FIG. 10, but rather inan up and down direction, i.e., transverse to arrow C. The rail member94 may be fixed to a bracket 96 that is connected to side panel 84 ofhousing 70. The blade bracket 90 may be selectively removed from themounting block 88 by selectively removing pin 98. In this manner,cutting blade 92 may be selectively removed and replaced, or cuttingblade 92 may be selectively rotated by a predetermined amount to exposea new cutting section of the blade to the strip 12 to be cut. Unlikesystems that must cut through weight material, the blade 92 lasts muchlonger as it only needs to cut between adjacent weight segments, thusonly cutting through the thin backing secured to the weight segments.Moreover, as the blade 92 is fixed, indexing the blade 92 to exposeunused sections of the cutting blade 92 prolongs the cutting blade 92life.

A pneumatic actuator 100 is operatively connected to the mounting block88, as best seen in FIG. 12. The pneumatic actuator 100 is operativelyconnected to the controller. In response to a signal from the controllerbased on the sensor's 75 measurement of the gaps between adjacent weightsegments, the pneumatic actuator 100 moves a piston 101 that isconnected to the mounting block 88. A rail guide 103 fixed to themounting block 88 thereby enables the mounting block 88 to slide alongthe rail 94 to cut a predetermined length of the strip 12 of weightmaterial. In this manner, the cutting blade 92 is advanced over thestrip 12, within a gap positioned between the adjacent weight elementssecured to the strip 12.

Referring to FIGS. 13-15, the cutter base assembly 80 will now bedescribed. In one exemplary arrangement, the cutter base assembly 80comprises a mounting base block 102, a shaft wedge 104 (best seen inFIG. 15), first and second guides 106, 108, a guide track 110 (FIG. 15),a spacer plate 112, and a sensor bracket 114. The sensor bracket 114carries the sensor 75. In one exemplary arrangement, the sensor bracket114 is selectively adjustable to accommodate varying thickness of strips12 of segmented weight material. More specifically, the sensor bracket114 may include adjustment slot 115 (FIG. 13A) that cooperates with afixing element 117 to selectively change the vertical height of thesensor bracket 114, and thereby the sensor 75. As may be seen in FIG.13A, the sensor 75 is positioned adjacent a cutting channel 126,described in further detail below. The sensor 75 is also operativelyconnected to the controller in any known manner.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 14-15, positioned between the guidetrack 110 and the first guide 106 is a feed channel 128. In operation,the strip 12 of weight material is directed through the feed channel128. The sensor 75 is positioned within a groove 127 (see FIG. 13B) thatis in communication with the feed channel 128. The sensor 75 operates tomeasure a predetermined amount of segmented weight material, based on asignal received from the controller, as the feed and cutting unit 18moves the strip 12 of weight material past the sensor 75. Morespecifically, in one exemplary arrangement the sensor 75 is an opticalsensor 75 that may be configured to count the gaps between adjacentweight segments on the strip 12.

An air cylinder 116 is operatively engaged with a marker cap holder 118.Marker cap holder 118 may be actuated by the air cylinder 116 to astored position, whereby an exposed tip 119 of a marker element 120(best seen in FIGS. 24-25) may be sealed within cap 122, therebypreventing the tip of the marker element 120 from being dried out.

A pneumatic actuator 124 is operatively connected to the shaft wedge 104(best seen in FIG. 15). The shaft wedge 104 is disposed within a cuttingchannel 126 positioned between the first and second guides 106, 108. Thecutting channel 126 is also in communication with the feed channel 128.The cutting channel 126 is sized to receive the cutting blade 92 thereinduring a cutting operation. The wedge 104 may be actuated upward duringa cutting operation to cooperate with the cutting blade 92 in severingthe strip 12 of material, so as to deliver the backing material betweenadjacent weight segments toward the cutting blade 92 during a cuttingoperation. With this configuration, the shaft wedge 104 will moveadjacent weight segments apart, thereby minimizing a risk that thecutter blade 92 might come into contact with a weight segment, so as notto “nick” a weight. The shaft wedge 104 will therefore extend the lifeof the cutting blade 92.

An exemplary feed assembly 74 is illustrated in FIGS. 16-20. The feedassembly 74 comprises a roller guide 130, a drive roller 132 operativelyconnected to a motor 134, and an idler roller 136. In one exemplaryarrangement, the roller guide 130 includes a base guide block 138 and agenerally L-shaped bracket 140 that is connected to the base guide block138. One section 142 of the bracket 140 is axially spaced from the baseguide block 138 to form a slot/feed channel 144. Section 142 furtherincludes a first open slot 146 formed through the section 142. Slot 146provides the idler roller 136 with access to the strip 12 of weightmaterial. Base guide block 138 also includes a second open slot 148 thatis opposing the first open slot 146. The first and second open slots areboth in communication with the feed channel 144. The drive roller 132extends partially into the feed channel 144 through the second open slot148, while the idler roller 136 is configured to selectively extendpartially into the feed channel 144 through the first open slot 146, asbest seen in FIGS. 18 and 20.

The idler roller 136 is operatively connected to a pneumatic actuator150. Actuator 150 is configured to move idler roller 136, downwardlytoward the first open slot 146 into an engaging position, such that aportion of the idler roller 136 extends into the feed channel 144through first open slot 146. In this manner, rollers 132 and 136frictionally engage the strip 12 therebetween, in a pinching manner.

The motor 134 further includes a gear box 152. A drive shaft 154 (bestseen in FIG. 20) extends from the gear box 152 and engages the driveroller 132. As the motor 134 rotates the drive shaft 154 in a firstdirection, the drive roller 132 will rotate, thereby advancing the strip12 of weight material in a first direction, i.e., toward the cuttermember 76. If the drive shaft 154 is rotated in a second direction, thedrive roller 132 will retract the strip 12 away from the cutter 76.

The motor 134 may be a servo/stepper motor with position feedback thatis operatively connected to a controller. More specifically, via thecontroller, the motor 134 may be calibrated with the particular type(i.e., material/shape) and size of the weight material being fed intothe feed channel 144 such that a set distance that the strip of material12 needs to travel to cut a predetermined amount of segments may becalculated. In this manner, the controller can be configured to verifythe amount of segments counted by the sensor 75 as compared with thecalculated distance traveled by the strip of material 12 to verify thatthe correct amount of segments have been cut from the strip 12 ofmaterial. If a discrepancy arises, the controller may be configured toissue an alarm alerting the user to a discrepancy.

Details of an exemplary arrangement of a tape removal unit 78 areillustrated in FIGS. 21-23 that may be used with the feed and cuttingunit 18. The tape removal unit 78 comprises a plurality of directionalrollers 156 a, 156 b, 156 c, a drive roller 158 operatively connected toa motor 159, and a holddown roller 160. The tape removal unit 78 isconfigured to remove the backing tape 86 from the strip 12 of weightmaterial before the strip 12 of weight material is cut by the cuttingblade 92. More specifically, during a setup of the system 10, thebacking tape 86 is separated from an initial segment of the strip 12, ata leading edge of the strip 12. The separated backing tape 86 is thenthreaded through the feed channel 144 and the cutting channel 126. Thebacking tape 86 is then directed over the lead directional roller 156 a.Directional roller 156 a is positioned adjacent cutter base assembly 80and directs backing tape 86 upwardly and away from the cutter member 76.

Backing tape 86 is then directed over directional roller 156 b, throughan opening in side panel 87 (see FIG. 8) and over directional roller 156c. In one exemplary configuration a mounting bracket 161 is secured toside panel 87 of housing 70 onto which directional roller 156 c, driveroller 158 and holddown roller 160 are mounted. After being directedover the directional roller 156 c, the backing tape 86 is furtherdirected onto drive roller 158. Holddown roller 160 is positionedadjacent drive roller 158 such that backing tape 86 is directed betweendrive roller 158 and holddown roller 160. Motor 159 operates to rotatedrive roller 158 to pull backing tape 86 down between the drive rollerand holddown roller 160, while maintaining tension on the backing tape86 during removal.

Referring to FIG. 22, a slip clutch 162 is positioned between the motor159 and the drive roller 158. The slip clutch 162 operates to maintaintension on the backing tape 86. A drive shaft extends through the driveroller 158 and is engaged to a flange bearing 164 (best seen in FIG.23). The flange bearing 164 is in contact with a roller arm 166. Abiasing member 168 is connected to the roller arm 166. In one exemplaryarrangement, the biasing member 168 is positioned between the roller arm166 and a portion of the holddown roller 160. The holddown roller 160serves to direct the backing tape 86 to a suitable waste receptacle,away from both the cutter blade 92 and from the robot 24.

The tape removal unit 78 may further comprise a tension detection sensor169. Tension detection sensor 169 is best seen in FIG. 20. In oneexemplary arrangement, tension detection sensor 169 is positionedadjacent the first directional roller 156 a so as to be in contact withthe backing tape 86 as it is being directed up through the tape removalunit 78. The tension detection sensor 169 is configured as a mechanicalswitch that that communicates with the controller to indicate whether anacceptable amount of tension is present on the backing tape 86 as it isbeing removed from the weight segments 12. As may be seen in FIG. 37,tension detection sensor 169 is mounted upstream of the cutter blade 92.

Details of an exemplary marking unit 82 are shown in FIGS. 24 and 25.The marking unit 82 is positioned between the feed assembly 74 and thecutter member 76 (see, e.g. encircled area 24 in FIG. 8). The markingunit 82 comprises a holding bracket 170, a pneumatic actuator 172, and amarker element holder 174 that receives marker element 120.

The holding bracket 170 includes a subplate 176, a rail plate 178 andopposing side plates 180. The subplate 176 is configured for mounting onhousing 70, as best seen in FIG. 8. On one side of the rail plate 178 arail member 182 is fixed. A carrier member 183 is secured to a bottomsurface of the rail plate 178. The carrier member 183 includes amounting channel that has a complimentary cross-section to the railmember 182, such that the rail member 182 may be received therein. Aportion of the marker element holder 174 is secured to the rail member182 via the carrier member 183 such that the marker element holder 174may be selectively moved to engage the tip 119 of the marker element 120against a peripheral edge of a weight segment of the strip 12 of weightmaterial at a predetermined location. More specifically, the actuator172 is connected to a cylinder bracket 184 that is fixed to the railplate 178. A plunger element 186 of the actuator 172 is connected to acylinder plate 188 via a fastening element 190. The cylinder plate 188is also operatively connected to a spring plunger 192 that extendsthrough the cylinder plate 188 and into a marker channel 194 of themarker element holder 174. The spring plunger 192 contacts an end of themarker element 120, opposite the marker tip 119. In operation, when theactuator 172 is activated to mark a weight segment, the actuator 172will move in direction M, thereby pulling the cylinder plate 188 towardthe strip 12 of material disposed within the feed channel 128 of thebase cutting assembly 80, against the biasing force of the springplunger 192 and along the rail member 182. The spring plunger 192 willoperate to return the marker element 120 to a non-marking position whenthe actuator 172 is deactivated. Various selectively removable retainingelements 195 serve to retain the marker element 120 within the markerholder 174, but allow the marker element 120 to be replaced, as neededor desired (if, for example a different color marker element 120 isdesired to be used).

Once sections of the strip 12 of weight material has been cut and thebacking 18 has been removed, they may be delivered to a weight applyapparatus/member, such as a robotic “end of arm tool” (EOAT) 26. Oneexemplary arrangement of an EOAT 26 is depicted in FIGS. 26-29. EOAT 26comprises first and second arc members 196, 198 connected to a centerrail 201. The first arc member 196 has an end face 202. The second arcmember 198 has an end face 204. The end face 204 of the second arcmember 198 is disposed along a first plane P₁. The end face 202 of thefirst arc member 196 is disposed along a second plane P₂. The secondplane P₂ is angularly inclined an angle β from the first plane P₁.Moreover, the end face 202 of the first arc member 196 is positionedradially inboard of the second arc member 198, as shown in FIG. 28. Inone exemplary arrangement, the end face 202 is positioned between 0.0625and 9.30 inches inboard of end face 204. Angle β is preferably between 8and 20 degrees. In one exemplary arrangement, the center rail 201 isangled about 12° and an end 203 of center rail 201 is positionedradially inboard about 0.125 inches to offset the first and second arcmembers 196, 198 to enable weights to be loaded and have independentengagement of the weights with the wheel rim surface.

In one exemplary arrangement, the end faces 202 and 204 are providedwith a retaining system that selectively holds the strip 12 untilapplied to a wheel or other imbalanced member. The strips 12 areretained on the end faces 202, 204 with the adhesive material exposed.For example, in the EOAT 126 show in FIGS. 26-29 both the first andsecond arc members 196, 198 further includes a retaining plate 206 andan engagement pad 208. The engagement pad 208 is secured to a portion ofthe retaining plate 206 such that movement of the retaining plate 206also moves the engagement pad 208. The engagement pad 208 may be made ofcompressible material, such as rubber. The retaining plate 206 issecured to the first arc member 196 by fasteners 207.

Adjacent to the end faces 202, 204 of the first and second arc members196, 198, respectively, is a securing lip 210. Securing lip 210 isintegral with the first arc member 196, but extends outwardly from theend face 202.

First arc member 196 also includes one or more pneumatic actuators 212.Actuators 212 include a piston 214 having an end 216 that is connectedto the retaining plate 206, as best seen in FIG. 29. One or more biasingelements 216 are also provided. Biasing elements 216 are secured to amoveable post 218 that is fixedly connected to the retaining plate 206.The biasing element 216 serves to bias the retaining plate 206 upwardlysuch that the engagement pad 208 is spaced away from a peripheral edge220 of the weight segments disposed on the end faces 202/204 of thefirst and second arc members 196,198. In one exemplary arrangement, thegap between the bottom surface of the engagement pad 208 and theperipheral edge 220 is approximately 0.08 inches.

In operation, the cut weight segments are positioned on the end faces202/204 of the first and second arc members 196/198. The actuators 212(which are connected to the appropriate supply lines (not shown) at theconnection ends 222) then overcome the biasing force of the biasingelement 216 and pull the retaining plate 206 downwardly such that theengagement pad 208 comes into frictional engagement with the peripheraledge 220 of the weight segment 12. Due to the securing lip 210, theweight segment 12 becomes frictionally retained to the EOAT 26 as theweight segments 12 are delivered by the robot to the imbalanced elementonce the weight segments are positioned for application, the actuatorsare turned off and the biasing element 216 returns the retaining plate206 to the open position so as to release the weight segments from theEOAT 26.

An alternative arrangement of an EOAT 26′ is illustrated in FIGS. 32-36.In this arrangement, the first and second arc members 196′ and 198′ areconfigured to be electromagnetic so as to selectively retain the strip12 of weight material on the EOAT 26′ via a magnetic attraction. In thisexemplary arrangement, the first arc member 196′ is angled β about 18°with respect to the second arc member 198′. Further, an end face 202′ ofthe first arc member 196′ is radially offset from the end face 204′ ofthe second arc member 198′ by about 0.25 inches.

As best seen in FIG. 33, a center rail 200′ that supports the first andsecond arc members 196′ and 198′, is attached to connecting plate 250.The connecting plate 250 mounts to a force sensor unit 252 that isoperatively connected to the robot. In operation, when the EOAT 126′ isengaged against the surface to which the weight segments are to beapplied, the force sensor unit 252 serves to insure that the a steadyforce is maintained against the surface, thereby serving to make surethat the weight segments are fully engaged with the imbalanced member.

As best seen in FIG. 34, first and second arc members 196′ and 198′further comprises electromagnet strips 254 a and 254 b. In one exemplaryarrangement, electromagnet strips 254 a, 254 b are disposed adjacent thetop and bottom of the end faces 202′ and 204′. However, it is understoodthat other placement configurations are contemplated. Nor is the presentdisclosure limited to using longitudinal strips of electromagneticelements. For example, electromagnetic elements may be disposed inrandom patterns on the end faces 202′ and 204′.

The electromagnetic elements 254 a, 254 b may be selectively energizedby traditional power delivery sources. In one exemplary arrangement,electrical connectors 256 a and 256 b are provided on the first andsecond arc members 196′ and 198′. The electrical connectors 256 a and256 b may be connected to a suitable power source. In operation, poweris supplied to the electrical connectors 256 a and 256 b, the cut weightsegments 12 will be magnetically retained on the end faces 202′ and 204′of the first and second arc members 196′ and 198′. However, when it isdesired to release the weight segments 12 for placement, theelectromagnetic elements are turned off. In one exemplary arrangement,the electromagnet elements may be electrically connected to thecontroller so as to allow a variable degree of magnetic strength. Morespecifically, for certain weight material, it may be desired to producea greater magnetic force at end faces 202′ and 204′ than for otherweight material.

Another exemplary configuration of an EOAT 126″ is illustrated in FIGS.37-40. In this arrangement, the EOAT 126″ has many of the samecomponents as EOAT 126 and 126′. For example, EOAT 126″ includes firstand second arm members 196″ and 198″ that are supported by a center rail200″. However, the end faces of each of the first and second arm members196″ and 198″ are include a magnetic material. Unlike the EOAT 126′ thatis constructed of an electromagnetic material that is selectively turnedon and off, the magnetic force exhibited by EOAT 126″ is always on.

To load the weight segments, a fixed track arrangement 280 is provided.The fixed track arrangement 280 comprises parallel plates 282 that maybe joined together by a cross member 284. The plates 282 are spacedapart so as to create an open channel 286 that is accessible from thebottom. The plates 282 may have an arcuate shape that corresponds to theshape of the first and second arms 196″ and 198″. Lining the inside ofthe plates 282 are bumper elements 288.

The plates 282 are secured to part of the feed and cutting unit 18. Morespecifically, as may be seen in FIG. 38, an opening 290 is formedthrough the wall 84 that forms part of the housing 70 of the feed andcutting unit 18. A portion of the plates 282 is secured to supportbrackets 292. Support brackets 292 are connected to the base of thehousing 70 and positioned adjacent to the cutter base assembly 80. Withthis arrangement, as the weight segments 12 are cut, they are deliveredto the plates 282. More specifically, the weight segments 12 are pushedonto the bumper elements 288.

When the appropriate number of the weight segments 12 are pushed ontothe bumper elements 288 between the plates 282, the robot is actuatedsuch that one of the first and second arc members 196″ or 198″ aredelivered up through the open channel 286 to contact the weight segments12. The magnetic attraction of the magnetic elements disposed in thefirst and second arc members 196″ and 198″ will adhere the weightelements 12 to the first or second arc member 196″ and 198″. The robotwill push the first or second arc member 196″ or 198″ up over the bumperelements 288 and the first or second arc member 196″ or 198″ iswithdrawn from the plates 282 and delivered to an imbalanced member.

While the EOAT 126′ and 126″ are presented as alternatives to oneanother, it is understood that the mechanical/pneumatic clampingarrangement of EOAT 126 may be used in combination with either EOAT 126′and 126″ as well.

When a new spool is introduced into the feed and cutting unit 18, thenew spool will be spliced to the exhausted spool, as described inconnection with FIG. 3B. However, the splicing tape (that adheres theend segments E₁ and E₂ of adjacent springs 12 a and 12 b) is typicallyprovided with a different color tape to identify a splice area. Becauseit is not desirable to use weight segments from two different spools,referring to FIG. 37, a contrast sensor 300 may be secured to a supportbracket 302. The contrast sensor 300 is electrically connected to acontroller. The contrast sensor 300 is disposed downstream of the feedmechanism, but upstream of the tape backing tape removal assembly andupstream of the cutting blade. When the contrast sensor 300 detects achange in color between the backing tape 18, the controller sends asignal to the cutting blade 92 to initiate a cutting operation so as tocut a section of the strip 12 of weight material in the new spool. Inaddition, the controller can also be programmed to send a signal toidentify if the weights in the splice tape area are to be “discarded” or“applied”. Such a signal can be visible (such as an indicator lightmounted on support bracket 302 or elsewhere), audible, or both.

Regardless of which EOAT is utilized, in operation, the controlleroperates to actuate the robot 24 to move the EOAT to place the first arcmember 196/196′/196″ into contact with an inner surface of wheel 20 suchthat one of the end faces 202, 204 are carrying the strip 12 comes intocontact with the wheel 20 and is oriented to match the contour of thewheel 20. Due to the inclined and offset nature of the end faces 202,204, only one end face will be able to contact the wheel 20 during anapplication cycle (thereby preventing accidental placement of weights onthe other end face). The robot then actuates the EOAT to apply theweight in a rocking motion along the contour. In one exemplaryarrangement, the EOAT will include a 6 axis load sensor to enable notonly proper placement of the strip 12, but ensure full application. Morespecifically, the sensors provide a force feedback in the rocking motionto ensure full wet-out of the strip 12 of weight material; in essenceproviding a closed loop feedback system. The weight can be applied in asingle rolling motion or in a back-and-forth rocking motion.

Once the first strip 12 is placed on the wheel 20, the robot 24 isactuated to tilt the EOAT to apply the second strip 12 of weightmaterial that is disposed on the other of the first and second arcmembers 196/196′/196″, 198/198′/198″.

An alternative arrangement of a system 300 for cutting and dispensingselectively chosen lengths of strips of weight material are shown inFIGS. 30-31. This arrangement illustrates the decoiler unit 116positioned adjacent to a feed and cutting unit 118. Unlike the system 10shown in FIG. 1, feed and cutting unit 118 is positioned on a stand 111.All other components of system 200 are generally identical to thecomponents of system 10. The cut strips 12 will be collected on the sidesurface of the stand 111 and may be manually applied to a weight applytool such as EOAT 126/126′/126″.

While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended thatthese embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather,the words used in the specification are words of description rather thanlimitation, and it is understood that various changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may becombined to form further embodiments of the invention.

1. A feed and cutting unit for selectively cutting and dispensingindividual weight material segments from a common strip of weightmaterial, comprising: a feed assembly that includes a drive rolleroperatively connected to a motor and a follower roller that cooperateswith the drive roller to frictionally engage first and second surfacesof a strip of weight material to selectively move the strip of weightmaterial to a cutter member; wherein the strip of weight materialcomprises individual segments of weight material disposed on a commonbacking material by adhesive and separated by a gap; at least one sensoroperatively connected to a controller, wherein the at least one sensormeasures a predetermined amount of segmented weight material on thestrip of weight material as the feed assembly moves the strip of weightmaterial past the sensor; and wherein the cutter member is operativelyconnected to the controller, wherein the controller actuates the cuttermember to separate the predetermined amount of segmented weight materialfrom the strip of weight material by cutting at least a portion of thebacking material in the gap disposed between adjacent segments of weightmaterial during the cutting operation.
 2. The unit of claim 1, whereinthe at least one sensor includes an optical sensor that measures gapspositioned between the adjacent segments of weight material disposed onthe backing material.
 3. The unit of claim 1, further wherein the motoris a servo/stepper motor with position feedback, wherein the motor isselectively calibrated with the controller, depending on a selectedweight material used with the unit, to calculate a predetermineddistance that the strip of weight material travels to the cutter memberto cut a predetermined amount of segments of weight material.
 4. Theunit of claim 3, wherein the calculated predetermined distance that thestrip of weight material travels to the cutter member is compared to anamount of segments counted by the sensor to verify the amount ofsegments of weight material cut by the cutter member.
 5. The unit ofclaim 1, wherein the cutter member is mounted for selective slidingmovement along a rail, transverse to an axial pathway of the strip ofweight material.
 6. The unit of claim 5, further comprising a pistonassembly that operates to move cutter member along the rail, and whereinthe piston assembly is operatively connected to the controller such thatthe controller will activate the piston assembly to move the cutter inresponse to a signal received from the at least one sensor.
 7. The unitof claim 1, wherein the cutter member is mounted to a bracket fornon-rotational movement during a cutting operation.
 8. The unit of claim7, wherein the cutter member is selectively removable from the bracketand rotatable to expose a different cutting area of the cutter memberbetween cutting operations.
 9. The unit of claim 1, further comprising acutter base unit disposed below the cutter member, wherein the strip ofsegmented material is received within a portion of the cutter base unitduring the cutting operation.
 10. The unit of claim 9, furthercomprising shaft wedge disposed within a cutting channel of the cutterbase, wherein the cutting channel is sized to receive the cutting memberduring a cutting operation and wherein the shaft wedge may be actuatedto contact the backing member of the strip of weight material so as tospread adjacent segments of weight material apart to direct the cuttingmember through the backing material during a cutting operation.
 11. Theunit of claim 1, wherein the feed assembly further comprises a rollerguide into which the drive roller is at least partially disposed,wherein the roller guide includes a feed channel into which the strip ofweight material is received, a first open slot formed on a first outersurface of the roller guide through which the follower roller projectsinto the feed channel and a second open slot opposing the first openslot through which the drive roller projects such that the first andsecond rollers both contact the strip of weight material through thefirst and second slots.
 12. The unit of claim 1, further comprising atape removal unit for separating the common backing material from thesegments of weight material and exposing adhesive on the segments of theweight material, wherein the tape removal unit that further comprises alead roller, a directional roller, a tape drive roller, and a tape drivefollower roller, wherein the lead roller is disposed adjacent to aroller guide, and the directional roller directs the backing tape awayfrom the cutter member, wherein the tape drive roller is operativelyconnected to a drive motor and wherein rotation of the drive rollerpulls the backing material away from the cutter member, whilemaintaining tension on the backing material.
 13. The unit of claim 12,wherein the tape removal unit further comprises a slip clutch that isoperatively connected to the drive roller.
 14. The unit of claim 12,further comprising a tension detection sensor to verify tension appliedto the backing material in the tape removal unit.
 15. The unit of claim1, further comprising a splice detector configured to identify wherebacking material from different spools of material have been splicedtogether.
 16. (canceled)
 17. The unit of claim 1, further comprising amarking unit positioned adjacent the cutter member, wherein the markingunit comprises holding bracket for selectively retaining a markingelement, and wherein the marking element is operably positioned withinthe holding bracket to be selectively actuated to non-destructively markan edge of a segment of weight material.
 18. (canceled)
 19. The unit ofclaim 1, further comprising a weight apply member configured to receivea cut section of the segments of weight material, wherein the weightapply member comprises first and second arc members connected to acenter rail, wherein the first arc member has end face disposed in afirst plane, and wherein the second arc member has an end face disposedin a second plane that is offset from the first plane.
 20. The unit ofclaim 19, wherein the first and second arc members includeelectro/magnetic members in end faces of the first and second arcmembers, and when power is supplied to the electro/magnetic members, thesegments of weight material are retained to the weight apply member. 21.(canceled)
 22. The unit of claim 19, wherein the first and second arcmembers have at least one magnetic element disposed within the first andsecond end faces.
 23. The unit of claim 19, further comprising a forcesensor connected to the weight apply member, wherein the force sensor isused to verify that a constant press force is maintained by the weightapply member during a weight apply operation.
 24. The unit of claim 1,further comprising a decoiler unit operably connected to the feedassembly, wherein the decoiler unit further comprises a roller assemblyfor holding a rolled up strip of weight material, and a feed arrangementfor directing the strip of material to the feed assembly.
 25. (canceled)26. The unit of claim 24, further comprising a dampener operativelyconnected to at least one roller of the roller assembly of the decoilerunit, the dampener assembly selectively operable to prevent decoiling ofthe rolled up strip of weight material.
 27. The unit of claim 24,further comprising a splice bracket that receives a first end portion ofone rolled up strip of weight material and a second end portion ofanother rolled up strip of weight material and retains the first andsecond end portions during a splicing operation.
 28. The unit of claim27, wherein the splice bracket includes a magnetic element that isoperative to retain the weight segments of the first end portion and theweight segments of the second end portion to the splice bracket during asplicing operation.